iOS 11: How multitasking and the Dock work on the iPad

With iOS 11, Apple is transforming how multitasking works on iPads. You’ll need to learn new gestures and change how you view the Dock, but overall the changes are a major step forward in making the iPad a more powerful productivity device.

iOS 11: Step into the new Dock

On iOS, the Dock has never been anything more than a special strip of apps that stays visible on every page of the Home screen. But for iPads running iOS 11, the Dock behaves differently—and this means your approach to what apps you put in the Dock should be different, too.

In iOS 11, you can call up the Dock with a swipe up from the bottom of the screen. You can quickly switch between apps without ever going to the home screen, via a quick swipe and tap. It takes some getting used to, but it’s fun to be able to switch directly between apps with only a couple of gestures.